This application claims the priority of German patent document 19933430.7, filed Jul. 16, 1999, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a backrest for a vehicle seat, in particular a rear seat having a head restraint which can be pivoted away from an approximately vertical operative position into an approximately horizontal inoperative position on a rear side of the backrest and which has a head cushion and at least one supporting rod which holds the head cushion passes through a slot-like cutout in the backrest and is fixed to a pivoting shaft arranged in the backrest.
In the case of a known backrest of this type (DE 42 20 222 C1), two supporting rods which hold the head cushion run outside the head cushion essentially in a semicircle which is curved away from the backrest and is concentric to the shaft axis of a bent pivoting spindle held transversely within the backrest. The supporting rods are integrally formed on the bent section of the shaft at their end facing away from the head restraint. In order to make the pivoting movement of the head restraint possible, two parallel, slot-like cutouts, through each of which a supporting rod passes, are provided in the upper side of the backrest. During the pivoting of the head restraint, the supporting rods move along the cutouts.
Openings on the upper side of the backrest impair the visual overall impression. In addition, relatively small objects which are deposited, for example, on the rear parcel shelf, can easily fall into these openings and obstruct or even impair the pivoting mechanism. Long-term deposition of dirt in the pivoting mechanism through the openings in the upper side of the backrest cannot be avoided.
The invention is based on the object of, in the case of a backrest of the type mentioned at the beginning, improving the head restraint in such a manner that openings on the upper side of the backrest are avoided.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by providing a backrest of the above-noted type, wherein the supporting rod emerges out of the head cushion towards the rear side of the backrest with a curved rod section running concentrically to the pivoting shaft, and extends as far as the pivoting shaft with a straight rod section angled off at an end of the curved rod section.
The backrest according to the invention has the advantage that the slots necessary for the pivoting of the head restraint are shifted onto the rear side of the backrest and therefore, because of the unity of the backrest in the upper backrest region, a visually improved overall impression is obtained. Since the backrest is generally inclined rearwards and the slots therefore run slightly obliquely with respect to the vertical, the risk of dirt accumulation is substantially reduced. It is equally difficult for objects to be able to penetrate unintentionally into the cutouts.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.